Georgia Banking School

Georgia Banking School

The Georgia Banking School, a unique growth opportunity for qualified, highly-motivated bankers, is a challenging educational experience that demands a full personal commitment. The mission of the school is to prepare first-level and mid-level managers to effectively and profitably serve the public by:

developing a thorough understanding of banking, focusing on critical banking functions, their inter-relationships, and the determinants of profitability,
developing analytical skills and management techniques, and
creating an awareness of the changing banking environment and the role of the commercial bank in the financial services industry.

The school provides a well-balanced curriculum utilizing UGA faculty members, experienced bankers and other well-qualified industry experts. Since 1961, the GBA-sponsored Georgia Banking School has been a highly-effective resource for developing the leadership talents of Georgia bankers.

“Every bank in Georgia should send someone to Georgia Banking School. The most valuable aspect of Banking School for me was the opportunity to learn from seasoned banking veterans who have respect for the ‘ups and downs’ inherent in our industry. As our class gathered in Athens, each year during the three year program it was a great opportunity to hear about ideas and challenges posed to banks across the state of Georgia.”

Steve Adams
Vice-President, Corporate Banking
Columbus Bank & Trust
Georgia Banking School Graduate of Distinction, 2010

Admission Requirements
For admission, an applicant must:

be employed as an officer or key staff member of a Georgia bank;
have a college degree and two years banking experience, or a high school diploma and five years banking experience;
have successfully completed AIB courses in Principles of Banking, Money & Banking and Accounting, or equivalent coursework or demonstrated knowledge of these disciplines;
be recommended by the bank's CEO

Continuing Education Units
Continuing Education Units (CEUs) are granted to participants who satisfactorily complete approved non-degree programs. CEUs are calculated on the basis of one CEU for each ten contact hours of the program. Participants of the Georgia Banking School will receive approximately 11.5 CEUs. Further information about CEUs may be obtained from your school coordinator while attending the Georgia Banking School.

Georgia Banking School Curriculum
The curriculum is designed to provide students with the following skills and knowledge:

specific skills to manage in the functional areas of banking;
an understanding of how banks fit within the financial services industry;
community banking sales and business development strategies and community economic development programs;
ability to solve problems, work in teams, and make decisions in a managerial setting; and
exposure to the increasingly complex and important areas of legal and regulatory issues including CRA issues, legal environment and bankruptcy issues, and the role of the Federal Reserve.

The specific curriculum for each year is as follows:

First-Year Curriculum

Bank Financial Analysis
Strategic Thinking
Lending
Commercial Lending
Small Business Development
Ethics
Employee Development
Human Resources Legal Issues/Ethnic Diversity
Contemporary Economic Issues
Asset/Liability Management I
Practical Compliance Management
The Changing Banking Environment
Marketing Bank Services
Wealth Management and Financial Planning

Second-Year Curriculum

Loan Portfolio Management
Investments I
Sales Development
Risk Management
Financial Statement Analysis
Compensation Strategies
Compliance Hot Topics
Business Etiquette
Capital Planning
Bankruptcy Law
Community Bank Technology
Bank Security
Employment Law
Secured Transaction Law
Retail Credit Issues
Negotiation Skills

Third-Year Curriculum

Management Styles
Investments II
Credit Policies and Procedures
Communication Skills
Corporate Credibility Issues
Bank Performance Analysis
Presentation Skills
CEO/CFO Panel Discussion
Special Assets

Bank Management Simulation
The Bank Management Simulation takes place entirely in the third year of the program. This phase of the school allows students the opportunity to make decisions as senior officers of a bank. Working in teams, participants make operating, lending, and pricing decisions that influence bank profitability and bank stock price. The computer model allows students to make decisions, to receive quick feedback on the effectiveness of their decisions, and then to make new decisions which adjust bank operations to compensate for a large number of internal and external forces including competition, the economy, and regulatory constraints. As in the real world, good decisions lead to improved profits and higher stock prices and bad decisions generate reduced earnings and share prices.

Home Study Cases and Problems
Between the on-campus sessions, banking school participants complete six correspondence assignments. The typical assignment includes reading chapters from a commercial banking textbook and analyzing one or two cases.

The cases reinforce many of the concepts learned during the on-campus sessions and give participants a heavy dose of hands-on analysis of real-world banking situations.

Cases involve bank profitability, commercial lending, and the management of liquidity, capital adequacy, and interest rate risk. The cases emphasize financial analysis and writing skills. Completion of the home study cases assigned is required for graduation from the school.

Tuition for members is $1,650.

Georgia Banking School

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and Technology School

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at LSU

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